


Strange, In a Strange Way

by LazyWriterGirl



Series: In Any Scenario - Korrasami Month 2016 [7]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, I'm Sorry, Kinda, Korrasami Month 2016, Prompt: Meet The Parents, Technically This Counts For The Prompt Right, i did a sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 16:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8630428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyWriterGirl/pseuds/LazyWriterGirl
Summary: Asami knows Senna and Tonraq already, so meeting them again, as Korra's fiancee, shouldn't be that big of a deal. And it isn't. Except why does she feel funny inside whenever they make her feel so loved?Set after "Korra, the Romantic" but can be read as a stand-alone.





	

She’s been receiving compliments all day, and Asami knows that it’s less because her employees have missed her and more because of the necklace that peaks out from behind the collar of her jacket. After all, quite a few of them have at least one relative or friend who is of Water Tribe descent and even more of them are interested in learning of world marriage customs for some reason unfathomable to Asami—she honestly doesn’t know how Varrick comes up with half the ideas he does, but his exhibitions on Water Tribe traditions have proven a hit with the culturally-diverse masses of Republic City.

“My apologies for the interruption, Miss Sato but—oh!” Her assistant’s eyes fall to her neck, and the girl smiles; she’s a Republic City native, but her mother, if Asami remembers correctly, is Northern Water Tribe. Which would explain why she’s looking at Asami that way; not that she minds—she’s proud that people know what the necklace around her neck means, because Korra means the world to her and this is more than just a custom; this necklace is a symbol of the lengths Korra would go to for her.

“Yes? What is it?”

Her assistant jolts out of her relaxed, smiling posture so quickly that Asami is almost startled when the girl says, “Your 11:00 called; they’re terribly sorry but they’re running a little late. They’d like to know if you would be okay with meeting them at Kwon’s Cuisine for lunch during lunch instead of meeting here.”

Asami worries her bottom lip for a moment. She’d hoped to be able to surprise Korra at the docks; Senna and Tonraq are coming to the city to celebrate their engagement, after all. Still, she _had_ said that this deal might go on for longer than she’d thought, and Future Industries could really benefit from an agreement with these new potential investors so…”Yes, that should be fine.”

She knows that Korra will understand, as will Senna and Tonraq; Asami is glad that she’s already met her girlfriend’s—fiancée’s, she corrects—parents before. It helps to relieve the pressure. Not that Asami needs anything to relieve the pressure, because there is none. Because she’s absolutely comfortable around Senna and Tonraq, both of whom are amazing people who clearly love their daughter to the moon and back again.

 

Because she isn’t nervous about seeing either of them now that she’s going to be marrying their daughter at some point in the hopefully-not-too-distant future; nope, not Asami, she isn’t nervous in the _least._

 

 

 

An hour and a half later Asami is seated at Kwon’s Cuisine, attempting to harness her nervous—not nervous—energy into something she can use to her advantage. She throws her every charm at the investors during the impromptu lunch meeting, and for by the time they’re on to dessert she feels pretty well about everything. It gets to the point where she has to excuse herself for a moment, has to sneak into the bathroom quickly so that she doesn’t smile too widely at the table and make herself appear like some overly-excited newbie just closing her first deal.

Asami doesn’t like to gloat, but she’s quite the businesswoman, even after a two-week vacation to the Spirit World, completely cut off from her numbers and her design plans and just surrounded in the love of the most powerful—most wonderful—woman in the world. Not that that would change anything, of course, but still…

Her first thought is that she can’t wait to go home to tell Korra, because they’re finally living together—in an apartment in the city, because the Sato Estate is still not her favourite place on earth to be and honestly it’s rather far off from her new office—and sharing good news about her day is always something she’s wanted to do with a partner. Then she remembers that Senna and Tonraq will be there as well, and she doesn’t _mind_ sharing the news with them too—not at all—but she feels just a little awkward thinking about that.

She loves Korra’s parents, really, she does, but sometimes, when they’re around, she can’t help but feel a little strange. Not strange in the sense that she doesn’t feel like herself or anything weird like that…just, strange. Because every time she sees them it feels like she’s missing something. Like she doesn’t quite fit in, even though Senna and Tonraq have never been anything but kind and accommodating in her presence; _warm_ with her in a way that has always invited her to feel as if she belongs with them.

It might just be that now she’s meeting them as Asami, their daughter’s fiancée and not just Asami, their daughter’s sort-of friend or even Asami, their daughter’s best friend-and-girlfriend. She’s certain that by the time she gets home they’ll already know. Knowing Korra she wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret, would probably get flustered at the first mention of the ring that she now wears on her left ring-finger. Asami thinks that they were probably aware of their daughter’s intentions from the get-go, because Korra _did_ disappear to the South Pole for almost a month, and Tonraq would surely have been the one to teach his daughter how to make a traditional betrothal necklace. So yes, Senna and Tonraq are pretty much almost one hundred percent certain that Asami Sato is now their future daughter-in-law, which is great except that she’s nervous.

This feels…weirdly official; uncomfortably official, in a way, because now that she and Korra have made it so far, Senna and Tonraq are bound to…Asami stops herself. There’s nothing _wrong_ with her, and she and Korra are happy, and she _loves_ Korra with her entire being and then some, so of course Senna and Tonraq are probably thrilled about this engagement, hopefully. Asami still can’t place the feeling that crawls over her skin as she makes her way back to the table of investors.  

Whatever it is, she doesn’t allow it to worry her for the rest of the day, returning to her seat with a rejuvenated smile and a litany of bad technology jokes that she absolutely did not get from Varrick the night before.

 

 

 

The first thing that Senna and Tonraq do when she walks through the door of her apartment is to sweep her up into a “family hug” that leaves her breathless both in an emotional and physical sense. She has always known of their amazing capacity for love—how else could one be a successful parent to the Avatar without that?—but to think that they have included her so readily is truly humbling. Asami doesn’t know what to do once they release her, and so she simply smiles and welcomes them, asks them how their voyage was.

“You are a _wonderful_ girl, Asami,” Senna says, taking both of her hands and squeezing them firmly before she turns her head towards the direction of the kitchen. “See, Korra? Your fiancée has the most beautiful manners!”

Asami laughs just a little nervously, because Senna isn’t normally so excitable, but that nervousness is blown way, way out of proportion when one of Tonraq’s heavy, solid hands cups her shoulder. “We’re so glad to be welcoming you into our family, Asami.” From the gravity in his voice, she can tell that he truly means it.

“Okay, okay, give her some room, please, Mom? Dad?” The smile on her face turns up to its brightest setting at the sound of Korra’s voice, and at the other woman’s appearance Asami very nearly coos in delight. It’s a terrible cliché, but she misses Korra so much throughout the day that this moment, when she first sees her fiancée after a long day at the office or out in the field, is her favourite part of her regular routine.

And Korra, from the sly grin on her face, knows it.

“Hey, babe, have a good day at work?”

“Yes! We managed to close that deal with those investors I was telling you about and—Asami feels Korra’s lips on her own and she almost moans at the contact before remembering that Senna and Tonraq are literally about three feet away. “H-how was your day?” She says, breaking away as best as she can without getting out of the tight embrace of Korra’s arms.

“Fine. Caught a couple of bad guys trying to harass a few new families. Spoke to Wu about some plans he has for an aid concert in the Middle Ring. Normal stuff,” Korra says, sly grin still in place, arms locked around Asami’s neck.

“Korra,” says Tonraq in his deep, comforting dad voice. “Save that for…later. Why don’t we go out for dinner?”

Korra sighs and nods, loosening her grip around Asami just enough for the CEO to straighten up her dishevelled jacket. Once that’s settled one firm arm snakes its way around Asami’s waist, and she smiles; Korra is certainly persistent. She laughs, and then flashes the large man a grateful smile which he answers with an amused nod of his head. She loves cozying up to Korra, obviously, but now is not the time. “Oh, please, allow me to treat you, in that case! You’re our guests!”

“No, no, I insist—

“Neither of you is going to stop any time soon,” Korra says, nudging Asami with her hip.

Senna laughs, “We picked stubborn ones, didn’t we, sweetie?”

“Yep!”

Tonraq’s smile when he watches his wife and daughter is gentle and kind, filled with warmth, and Asami is touched to see such softness on Tonraq’s strong face. It’s a look that she barely remembers her father wearing…one that she hadn’t seen since…

“Tell you what, Asami,” says Tonraq, his voice adding to the general warmth of the atmosphere, “We’ll split the bill.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea To—sir.”

“Please, Asami, it’s fine if you continue to call me Tonraq.”

When Senna grins, Asami is suddenly acutely aware of where Korra had inherited her cheekiness. “Or you could get a jump start on calling him ‘Dad’!”

Asami knows that her blush is painfully bright when Korra prods her in the side, but she smiles through the embarrassment—which, really, isn’t all that bad—and nods, leading the family out onto the street where her Satomobile waits. She’s thankful that she’s driving one of the newer models this week, a revamped family-friendly version of one of her father’s older designs.

 

 

 

Throughout the rest of the evening, she can’t help but feel that same strange feeling that she’s been having since the morning, and she isn’t sure of what it is even as she enjoys herself with Korra and her parents. It isn’t until she’s in bed later, Korra wrapped around her as they listen to Tonraq snoring from the guest room, that she places it. Korra’s parents have always been kind, but now, they have begun to treat her like even more a part of their family than ever, and it’s…upsetting in how nice it feels. And Asami knows why.

 

She makes a decision before going to bed that night as a gentle breeze wafts in from the open window, tugging softly at her hair.

 

 

***

 

 

It isn’t until after Senna and Tonraq have left that Asami says anything, though Korra does shoot her strange, “What’s-wrong-why-are-you-so-quiet” glances over the table every few minutes during their first breakfast alone together in a week.

“Uh…I know that we have plans for today but there’s…somewhere I’d like to take you first, if that’s okay?”

Korra looks at her for only a moment, smile as warm and loving as ever, and she says, “Sure, ‘Sami. It sounds important.”

“It is,” she says, though she makes sure to keep a smile on her own face as well.

 

Korra doesn’t ask any questions as she pitches in to help Asami with the dishes.

Korra doesn’t ask any questions when she gives vague answers in exchange for questions about where they’re headed.

 

Korra doesn’t ask any questions when Asami pulls in to the driveway of her family’s estate and leads her through a side-path leading directly to the Sato Estate gardens.

 

Korra doesn’t ask any questions even when they’re standing in front of what are two very large, very obvious memorials, and it isn’t until Korra slips her hand into Asami’s that Asami really fully realizes what it is that she’s about to do. She steps up to the older of the two, pulling Korra along with her, and breathes.

It’s about time that she does this.

“Seeing your parents again, now that our relationship has changed, it made me realize something.”

“What’s that?” Korra asks, and Asami is reminded once again of how much Korra has grown and matured since their first meeting.

“I realized that it was never going to be scary, meeting each other’s parents, because I’d already met yours so many times and you’d met my father before…though really it doesn’t matter since…” she doesn’t stop. The memorials say all that they need to.

“Asami…”

“It got me thinking though, that while I know so much about your parents, and I continue to learn about them every time we meet, I haven’t been fair to you. I’ve never spoken up much about mine. And in a strange way, that’s always made me feel…strange.”

 She isn’t articulating this very well, but clearly the woman she loves understands, and Asami is immediately grateful. Korra shakes her head, mouth drawn into a concerned line. “I know that it’s hard for you to talk about, ‘Sami…but if you want to, I’m more than open to it.”

Asami takes another deep breath and smiles, squeezing Korra’s hand.

“My parents married against my grandfather’s wishes,” she begins, and she’s so relieved to the patient, supportive warmth in Korra’s eyes that she releases a shuddering breath before continuing. “My grandfather was Fire Nation, and extremely proud of that, and because of my mother’s Earth Nation ancestry he deemed her an unsuitable match for his only son. My parents, however, didn’t care; and they ran away together while my father worked to bring his dream of Future Industries into reality.”

She pauses, turning to the memorial; her free hand strokes down one side of it tenderly. “My mother, as you know, was later killed by a firebender, and my father had this memorial dedicated to her.” She doesn’t need to say that the other, slightly smaller one nearby was her own doing; her last gift to Hiroshi Sato.

Korra’s hand squeezes hers just a little harder.

“I know that my father…was not the best of men when you met him, but what saddens me more than how he changed, and even more than how he was killed before he could truly change for the better, was that you never had the chance to meet him when he had my mother.

“He was so, so different when she was alive. So much brighter. So much kinder. So willing to see the good in all people, bender or not.”

“I’m sure he was amazing,” Korra says quietly, stroking a gentle path down Asami’s back. She doesn’t realize that she’s slightly hunched over the memorial now, fingertips brushing the name that has begun to wear out of the stone.

“I’m even more upset about it because it also means that you never got to meet my mother,” Asami says, swallowing past the lump in her throat. “I was only eight, just a little girl, but I remember how warm she was, and how good and kind and loving. And I remember how much she wished for my life to turn out as well as, if not better, than her own had. Her love story, specifically.”

Asami smiles at Korra fondly, kissing the darker woman when she answers, “I think her wish came true” with all of her usual charm but none of her usual cheekiness.

“It did,” she says, pressing her lips to the corner of Korra’s mouth, grinning when she comes away to see a touch of red on Korra’s skin. “I’m just sorry that you never got to meet her while she was alive,” she repeats, “and I know that I should have done this earlier, but I’d like you to, in whatever capacity this may be, meet my mother now.”

It’s stupid, she knows. Asami knows that her mother cannot see Korra, cannot feel the warmth of her skin or hear the joy of her laugh; or if she can, Asami simply cannot watch her mother react to the woman she loves most in the world.

Asami watches Korra’s eyes dart between her own and the picture on the memorial. She is afraid, for an instant, that her fiancée will find this whole thing silly. Will think that Asami shouldn’t be so stuck in the past, though of course she knows that Korra would never, _never_ be so cruel.

Korra lets go of her hand and turns, walking a step or two away before she turns around again. Before Asami can ask what she’s doing, Korra kneels, supplicant, then bends until her forehead is almost touching the floor.

Asami feels tears stinging at her eyes when Korra looks up, blue eyes wide and earnest and so very _Korra._

 

The first tear splashes against the base of the memorial when Korra says, voice serious and formal, “Mrs. Sato, I am honoured to meet you; and even more honoured to be marrying your daughter.”

 

A quiet breeze passes through the garden, tugging softly at Korra’s hair.


End file.
